Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, 4/25/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Date: Friday, April 25, 2025

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Los Angeles (+4.0)

The Los Angeles Lakers (50-32) are hitting the road to Target Center on Friday where they will attempt to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33) in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round. The series is locked up at 1 - 1. Minnesota opens this game as 4-point favorites. The betting total comes in at 206.

The Lakers faced off with the Timberwolves and earned the victory with a final of 94-85 in Game 2. When discussing personal fouls, the Lakers ended up walking away with 24 and the Timberwolves totaled 22 personal fouls. They also converted 5 of 25 shots from 3-point land. Minnesota walked away from this one shooting 80.0% when shooting free throws by burying 20 of 25 attempts. Moreover, Minnesota pulled down 34 rebounds (9 offensive, 25 defensive) and added 6 rejections. Minnesota doled out 14 assists and had 6 steals in the matchup. When discussing defending, Los Angeles allowed the other team to go 38.0% from the field on 30 of 79 shooting. They also doled out 23 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing 13 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In regard to hauling in rebounds, they earned a total of 41 with 9 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Lakers converted 20 of their 20 shots for a percentage of 100.0%. Los Angeles finished with a 45.3% field goal percentage (34 out of 75) and made 6 of their 29 shots from 3-point land.

Luka Doncic is a player who was a factor for the game. Doncic went 45.0% from the field and earned 9 assists. He was on the court for 42 mins played and also grabbed 12 rebounds. He was able to score 31 points on 9 of 20 shooting.

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Los Angeles enters this one with a win-loss mark of 50-32 on the season. They are averaging 113.4 points per outing (19th in the NBA) while connecting on 47.9% from the floor. The Lakers are hitting 36.6% on three-point shots (1,092 of 2,981) and 78.5% from the charity stripe. As a team, Los Angeles is collecting 42.4 rebounds per game and has accounted for 2,131 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 18th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 14.0 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 17.3 personal fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Lakers are forcing their opponents into 13.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.2 personal fouls. They are 22nd in the NBA in giving up assists to their opponents with 2,236 conceded so far this season. The Lakers defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 46.3% (3,392 of 7,319) and they surrender 43.0 boards per contest as a team. They are conceding 35.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 10th in basketball in PPG allowed (112.2).

In Game 2, the Timberwolves pulled down 25 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 34 for this contest. They coughed it up 13 times, while getting 6 steals in this matchup. The Lakers had 24 fouls for the game which got the Timberwolves to the charity stripe for a total of 25 tries. They were able to convert 20 of them for a percentage of 80.0%. In the matter of shooting from beyond the arc, Minnesota converted 5 of 25 attempts (20.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Timberwolves ended up going 30 for 79 from the floor which gave them a rate of 38.0%. The Timberwolves allowed the Lakers to make 34 out of 75 tries from the floor which had them shooting 45.3% for the game. They went 20.7% from three-point range by connecting on 6 out of 29 and finished the game at 20 of 20 at the free throw line (100.0%). Concerning how they attacked the glass, Minnesota permitted Los Angeles to snag 41 in total (9 offensive).

Julius Randle ended up being a major contributor for the Timberwolves for this contest. He made 9 out of 17 in the game for a rate of 52.9%, and tallied 4 rebounds. Randle earned 27 points in his 39 mins of playing time and tallied 6 dimes in this matchup.

Minnesota has a record of 49-33 for the year. The Timberwolves have committed 18.3 fouls per game and they go 78.9% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 26.1 times per contest (17th in basketball) and they are turning it over 14.5 times per game. Minnesota has scored 9,372 points on the season (114.3 per game) and they pull down 44.3 boards per game. As an offense, the Timberwolves are connecting on 46.8% from the field, which ranks 16th in the league.

The Minnesota defense gives up 35.3% on shots from 3-point land (1,040 of 2,949) and opponents are connecting on 76.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 24.8 assists and 42.9 boards per contest, which ranks them 5th and 8th in basketball. The Timberwolves are ranked 5th in basketball in points per game surrendered with 109.3. They are able to force 14.7 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 46.0% from the floor (7th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Los Angeles (+4.0)

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